Source: United States Department of Justice News
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Robert Reeves III, age 37 of Dallas, Texas, to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods where the defendant and his co-conspirators broke into businesses and stole cash from Bitcoin-related ATMs. Judge Hollander also ordered Reeves to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, which is $55,316. The sentence was imposed on March 27, 2023.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Baltimore; and Interim Chief Dennis J. Delp of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, from August 2018 through at least September 13, 2018, Reeves, co-defendants Meleech Neugent and Brandon Davis, and other individuals conspired to travel from the Dallas, Texas area to other parts of the United States, including the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, break into businesses after they closed and steal cash from Bitcoin-related automated teller machines (“ATMs”). Specifically, on August 29, 2018, Reeves, his co-defendants and others traveled from Dallas, Texas to Dulles International Airport and rented a vehicle. In the early morning hours of August 31, 2018 and September 1, 2018, they used that vehicle to drive to locations in Rockville, Columbia and Baltimore, Maryland, where they broke into four separate businesses. Once inside the business, the conspirators stole cash from the ATM machines.
As stated in is plea agreement, video surveillance from the burglary locations showed three individuals committed the acts, arriving and departing in a black Jeep Patriot with New Jersey license plates. Records revealed that the vehicle was owned by a car rental company and had been rented at Dulles Airport by Reeves and his co-conspirators. Records associated with Reeves’ internet and cell phone accounts showed that he searched for each victim business while the group was in Maryland. Later on September 1, Reeves and other co-conspirators visited a shopping center in Tysons Corner, Virginia. A video posted to co-defendant Neugent’s social media showed Neugent counting bundles of cash while purchasing shoes at a high-end designer retail store. Reeves and some co-conspirators returned to Texas, flying from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before leaving, the Jeep Patriot that was rented by Reeves was reported as being in a car accident with Reeves and Neugent listed as the occupants of the vehicle.
Reeves admitted that on August 23, 2018, he participated in a similar burglary in Illinois. Specifically, Reeves and another man approached a business in Elgin, Illinois, while carrying prying tools. One man pried open the door and the men then pried open the ATM inside the business, removing approximately $3,000 from the ATM.
Meleesh Neugent, age 40, and Brandon Davis, age 35, both of Dallas, Texas, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Neugent was sentenced to time served and Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31, 2023.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI Baltimore and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who is prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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